Abstract
Four experiments investigated the mechanisms of taste mixture suppression, the decrease in perceived intensity of a taste stimulus in a mixture in comparison with the taste presented by itself. Temporally simultaneous, spatially intermixed taste stimuli (sucrose and NaCl) snowed substantial mixture suppression, whereas temporally simultaneous, spatially separated stimuli showed only slight suppression (Experiments 1A and IB). The perceived intensity of simultaneously presented taste stimuli was inversely related to the distance between the stimuli (Experiment 2). The sensitivity of mixture suppression to a peripheral manipulation, the spatial relation of the stimuli on the tongue, suggests that the primary mechanism for sucrose-NaCl mixture suppression is a peripheral one. Experiment 3 demonstrated that mixture suppression was sensitive to a manipulation of the sensory system—adaptation. Adapting one component of a mixture, then presenting the mixture, resulted in little suppression of the unadapted component of the mixture. The sensitivity of mixture suppression to a manipulation of the taste system suggests that an important mechanism for sucrose-NaCl mixture suppression is located in the sensory system. Specific peripheral-sensory theories of mixture suppression are discussed.
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1. Gillan, D. J.Taste-taste, odor-odor, and taste-odor mixtures: Greater suppression within than between modalities. Manuscript submitted for publication, 1982.
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This research was supported by the General Foods Technical Center.
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Gillan, D.J. Mixture suppression: The effect of spatial separation between sucrose and NaCl. Perception & Psychophysics 32, 504–510 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204203
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204203